Changing reality
by Morak120
Summary: Naruto, the longtime Sixth Hokage, is the last shinobi remaining. A deal with the Toads and Kurama allows him to bend space-time and reality, and send his consciousness back to the past. Can he achieve Jiraiya's entrusted dream of peace, or will the shinobi of Konoha fall to evil once more? Naru/Saku, timetravel. Rated M for language/Implied themes. ADOPTED FROM SWAGOSAURUS
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto: Shippuuden, it is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.**

**This was originally made by Swagosaurus, adopted by Morak120 (me).**

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"I.. It's finished.."

A shadow of a smile appeared on the blonde's face, as he fell back, landing in his own pool of blood.

And with that, the fifth great ninja war had come to an end.

He looked up at the sky, it was gray, and rain began to fall down upon him. It was as if the heavens were crying out from all the tragic losses.

He then turned his head to see all his fallen comrades, grief constricting him with each one. However, one that still hit him the hardest, was the corpse of a woman with long pink locks, and dulled emerald eyes.

The woman he loved, and cared for, Haruno Sakura.

He closed his eyes, as tears slowly ran down his eyes. There wasn't much crying, though.. He had used up most of his tears already.

How could such a horrible, tragic event come to pass?

When the fourth great ninja war had ended, things seemed to have been going well.

Life had given Naruto everything it had to offer.

Tsunade had fallen during the war, but with her last words, gave Naruto her blessing of becoming the sixth. The moment the war ended, Naruto was given the title of Hokage without much hesitation.

He had finally gotten the acknowledgement from the people of Konoha that he so desperately wanted as a child. They finally saw him as a human being, a hero.. A leader.

He had then found out that Karin was one of the last remaining members of his clan, he had actual family, albeit very distant.

And he had finally brought Sasuke, his comrade, his brother, back to Konoha. He was able to help Sasuke see past his revenge, and pulled him out of the void of darkness he was swallowed up by.

The only thing life had refused to give him, was Sakura.

Before the mission that ended with Sasuke coming back, the pinkette and the blonde shared a passion filled night together. It was awkward, clumsy, and desparate. However, it allowed Naruto to show her exactly how he felt about her. All of that pent-up emotion and affection he had been hiding from her, he was allowed to show, for one night.

The moment Sasuke was back, and his trials were finished, though, Naruto stepped aside, and allowed his brother, and the woman he loved to be together.

Even when life had given him his life long dream, had allowed him to keep his promise, and found family he never knew he had, it still kept him away from his final dream, to be with her.

In the end, it didn't matter to the blonde, even when she was walking down the aisle, and when he was the _best man_, he still had that bright, caring smile he always bared to her.

Even if it meant him never being truly happy, as long as she was happy.. It didn't matter if he wasn't. As the years went by, he noticed glimmers of affection coming from her eyes, towards him, but he ignored them, not wanting to have false hope.

Then the fifth great ninja war came along. Another criminal organization came along, known as Akaiyoake, had stolen the remaining rinnengan from Nagato, and used it to revive a large group of shinobi, to wreak having on the shinobi world.

After that, the shinobi system was abolished. The land of waves became one of the leaders of the world, giving those fighting against the organization hope for future peace.

After taking down numerous villages, the group turned their heads to Konoha.

The village tried as hard as they could to defend themselves, in the end, almost every ninja from Konoha was wiped out, and only a few of the revived shinobi remained on the other side.

Naruto tried to fight back, but was locked down by his own Mother. Tears ran down her eyes, as her chakra chains kept him from moving.

Kushina cried as she struggled to break free, but to no avail, as she began to charge up an attack.

Naruto looked down, waiting for the attack to come. However, his eyes widened, as Sakura ran up, and took the attack for him.

She then broke him out of the chains, and then Naruto was able to dispatch Kushina.

The blonde held the pinkette in his arms, tears running down his eyes, as he cradled her. _"S-Sakura-chan.. Y-You'll be okay..!"_

She laughed slightly at this, as blood ran from her mouth, and the wound in her stomach. _"Naruto... There.. Is something I've been wanting to tell you.. I never.." _She proceeded to cough up blood, some of the red liquid hitting his face.

_"I never realized it, until.. now.. Seeing you about to die, finally made me see it... I love you, Naruto.." _His eyes widened greatly at this, he finally heard the words he had waited for his entire life.

Tears began to run down her face, as her mouth quivered. _"I.. I am so sorry, Naruto... Y.. You did so much for me... Because of how you feel about me..."_

She cried as she held his hand, Naruto felt her grip loosening slightly. His worse fears were now coming to pass.

She was dying. _"I... I am sorry if I made you feel alone.. I am so sorry.. Naruto.. I.. Love... You..."_

His eyes widen, as her grip fully loosened, as she fell limp, the last spark finally going out.

He cried out in agony, as he let Kurama fully take over, effectively destroying the remains of the organization. He didn't let anyone survive.

It didn't come without a price, though. The man with the rinnengan got a good shot in at Naruto, blowing a hole through Naruto's chest.

Now here he was, the twenty-five year old, laying in his own pool of blood, struggling to stay alive. He saw Sasuke's dead body, along with his and Sakura's dead children. He then saw Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji, all dead from the first wave of the attack.

Lee and Tenten's bodies were nowhere to be found, they were torn apart from a shinra tensei.

Neji and Kakashi had died in the fourth great ninja war, thanks to Obito.

However, thanks to the organization, Neji did come back, but as an enemy. Him and Hinata both fought until they took each other down.

Everyone Naruto ever knew, and cared about, were now dead.

He coughed, and wheezed, as blood ran out of his mouth.

_'I... I don't want to die alone..'_

He preformed the summoning jutsu, causing his toad comrades to appear. a pained smile spread across his face. "Hey... Ma... Pa... 'Kichi.. 'Tatsu.. Boss..."

Gamakichi looked at the blonde sadly, as depression washed over him. "Hey Naruto..."

Naruto then created a kage bunshin, allowing the Kyuubi to take it over. "K.. Kurama.. Could you.. T.. Take me to her..?"

Kurama could feel Naruto's chakra fading, all he did was nod solemnly, and pick up his vessel. He then brought the blonde to his pink haired love, and set him down next to her.

Naruto shakily, and weakly, moved his hand, and ran it along her cheek, before closing her eyes in respect. Even now, she was beautiful.. Her long pink hair, her soft skin, she was flawless in every way.

He couldn't handle looking at her anymore, he turned away, biting his lip all the while.

_'Atleast... Atleast I'm not alone.. In the end..'_

The blonde heard footsteps, and plops from the toads coming towards him, but he didn't bother looking at them, he didn't have enough strength to move anyways.

The Kyuubi knelt down, his blood-red, demonic eyes making contact with Naruto's dull cerulean ones. _"__**Kit, we have an idea that we would like to discuss with you.**__"_

Naruto's eyes weakly glanced at them all, as he raised an eyebrow. "An.. Idea..?"

"Naruto-chan.. Would you be willing to give it another try?" Fukasaku grimaced as he asked this.

Naruto coughed slightly, as he began to speak again. "W.. What do you mean..?"

It was Gamakichi's turn to talk, as he looked down at the blonde. "We know a technique that can send you back..."

"Back in time. It's a kinjutsu, of course.."

The blonde's eyes widen greatly at this, as he coughed again. A second chance? To try to fix everything?

_'I.. It sounds promising, but.. Can I really go through it all again?'_

He looked down, blood rushing from his wounds.

_'Can I watch my comrades die in front of me, again? Can I stand by, and watch as the woman I love is with someone else again?'_

Could he truly do it? Well, the answer was obvious, wasn't it?

"Y-Yeah... I-I'll do it.." He coughed again, as he shifted a bit in his laying down position. "I-It's a kinjutsu, you say?... W-What's the catch..?"

"The catch, boy, is that you have to lose the will to live..." Naruto looked at Gamabunta in slight surprise, who in turn, took a puff of his pipe. He then sighed, as the smoke rushed out of his mouth.

Naruto looked down toward the blood covered dirt, his eyes shaking. "The will to live..?"

Gamabunta just stared down at the blonde. "Aye, Gaki... You have to give up. When you have nothing left to live for.. _then_ we can begin the jutsu."

_"__**I will be coming with you, Kit.**__"_

Naruto looked at the fox possessed clone, with a slight smile. Kurama then grunts. _"__**If this works, I'll assimilate the other half of my chakra from my past self... Then, we'll take down the Akatsuki, and bring peace to the world... The way it was meant to be.**__"_

The blonde looked like he was hesitating, causing the fox to look at him sadly. _"__**Besides, you're dying anyways... Only thing keeping you alive is that damned stubbornness of yours...**__"_

Naruto just kept staring at the dirt, thinking about his options.

_'I could always just spend the rest of my life in the land of waves... Living as a hermit...'_

He then closed his eyes in slight pain.

_'But that sounds like a pain worst than death... Besides, if I do this, everyone will come back..!'_

He then looked up at them. "L... Let's do it.."

The blonde watched, as the toads gathered around him. Kurama took hold of him, as the clone vanished in a puff of smoke.

He then closed his eyes, as they were preforming the handsigns, feeling his chakra and Kurama's being sapped away.

His vision then went completely black. He felt like he was falling, through an endless void.

Is this, what it felt like to die..?

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Whew! Well, here you have it, a slightly different version of Swagosaurus' version of this chapter. This chapter, along with the next two, will be very similar. I really don't want to get rid of them, as I can work with what I have.

I won't be uploading chapters very often, as I got TLF to focus on. But, tell me what you think.

Laters.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.**

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**Note: Originally made by Swagosaurus, Adopted by me (Morak120).**

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Naruto grunted, as he felt himself leave the endless void that he plummeted through what felt like an eternity.

He slowly opened his eyes, his vision was blurry, and he couldn't feel anything. He shakily pushed himself up into a sitting position, and was shocked when he put his hand down, he felt someone's shoulder. He looked over, and his eyes widened when he saw his Uchiha comrade, Sasuke unconscious next to him.

_'Am... Am I?...'_

As his senses returned to him, he took in a breath of air. It was humid, smelt musty... And also bloody. As his hearing began to come back, he also heard the sound of birds, and people talking.

_'This place... Is it...?'_

His eyes widened slightly, when he felt a surge of pain travel through his being. The source, being his abdomen. He unzipped his jacket, and lifted his shirt up, only to meet up with something shocking. The seal that the Yondaime had placed on him, was glowing, and burning. He grimaced from the pain coming from the seal, as he put his shirt back down, and zipped up his jacket.

He then put his hand on his head, rubbing it slowly, as he looked at his surroundings. He had a feeling he knew where this place was... As his memories began to come back to him, that feeling came back and hit him like a ton of bricks.

_'W-Wait... The forest of death!'_

He then heard the Kyuubi's voice echo into his mind, only now was he able to feel the demon's presence.

_"__**Naruto... Now that I'm assimilating the past Kyuubi's chakra, and removing that seal the snake sannin put on you, you're going to experience pain for a little while... An immense amount of pain... Oh, and by the way, that Haruno girl is in trouble...**__"_

The blonde's eyes widened to this, as he looked toward the outside. "...What?"

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"Dammit! Let go, you fucking bitch!"

The man was saying this, while punching the skull of the pink haired girl known as Haruno Sakura. All the while he was beating on her, she had driven a kunai into the man's shoulder, and bitten down on his wrist. Despite the unimaginable pain she was going through, by feeling her skull being pushed in with each hit, she refused to let go.

She glanced over, and was saddened to see that Lee was now completely unconscious, beaten by the other oto-nin. This distraction however, caused her to slip up.

The oto-nin known as Zaku, finally got her to let go of him, and delivered a sharp hit to her gut, before sending her flying to the middle of the clearing. "Finally... You little shit!"

His female teammate, Kin, waved him off as she walked over to the pinkette. She gave a devious smirk, as she grabbed Sakura's long pink hair, and yanked her on to her knees. She tried to break free, which was quickly responded with Kin tightening the grip on Sakura's hair, causing her to wince in pain.

Kin sneered, as she looked at Sakura's pathetic state. "You are such garbage... A terrible excuse for a Kunoichi! You care about your hair, more than you do your skills!" Her eyes widened slightly, as her already creepy smirk, only got wider. "You are completely useless..."

The pinkette bit her lip, as tears began to build in her eyes. She glanced over to where her unconscious, and injured teammates were.

_'No... I have to stay strong... Sasuke-kun... Naruto... I will keep you both safe...!'_

She attempted to reach for the kunai that had fallen out of her supply pack, but was immediately stepped on by the Oto-kunoichi. "Oh, sorry little girl. It looks like it's time for you to stop _playing_ Shinobi... Don't worry, I'll make this quick for you."

Sakura looked up at her soon-to-be killer in fear, as she then closed her eyes. The tears began to push through, and run down her face.

_'I... I failed... I'm so sorry... Sasuke-kun... Naruto... I'm sorry for being useless...'_

"_**Get your fucking hands off of her...**_"Sakura's eyes opened in shock, as she looked over toward the cave, along with everyone else. Including Team 10, who were hiding away in the bushes.

They all watched, as Naruto stumbled out of the cave, while clutching his gut. To him, his seal felt like magma was being poured on it... He could tolerate a lot of pain, thanks to his training, but this... This was something not even he could withstand.

Sakura was... Shocked, to see Naruto awake. Her eyes widened, when she picked up on a couple of details. Blood slowly running out of his mouth, and the dull look in his eyes.

_'Naruto... What happened to him?'_

Naruto met the pinkette's gaze, and could only frown.

_'She's alive... They are ALL alive...'_

His eyes then made contact with the Oto-kunoichi's, who was chuckling. "What're you gonna do, shrimp? I got your girly right here." Zaku smirked at the blonde, while the biggest of the three, Dosu, watched with a careful eye.

_'Is he the one that Orochimaru-sama told us about?... The Demon brat? But... There's something wrong with him.'_

Naruto attempted to charge at Kin, but felt his legs give out on him, as he stumbled to the ground. The oto-nin began to laugh, all mocking the misfortune that had fallen upon him. Sakura, however, could only watch with tears running down her cheeks, as her savior, was barely staying alive.

_'Don't... Naruto, it's useless...! Please stop...!'_

Zaku folded his arms, as he smirked down at the blonde. "Who do you think you _are_, kid? Trying to play the hero?"

Naruto's eyes widened, as something in his mind snapped. At that moment, he felt so much... Anger.

_'Everyone's dead... EVERYONE! This is my last chance to keep them all alive! I am NOT going to mess this up again!'_

He pushed himself off the ground, and with the little energy that had built up, he was able to surprise Kin with an attack. He threw his fist forward, and made contact with her jaw. He felt a nice crack in the bone, as she stumbled back a few feet, dropping Sakura all the while.

Naruto panted slowly, as the attack finished, and immediately followed it with coughing up an excessive amount of blood.

The pinkette could only watch, as she bit her lip.

_'Why is he doing this to himself?... He's hurt, but he continues to fight!...'_

Naruto looked over at Sakura, as sadness began to wash over him. He missed her already. She may be Sakura, but she had yet to grow up to be the woman he had truly fallen in love with. "Sakura-chan... Are yo-GUH!"

He was immediately cut off by Zaku, who had used his wind-enhanced arms to send the blonde flying past Sakura, and into a tree. As he made contact with the hard surface, he both felt, and heard his shoulder painfully dislocate. "AUUGHH!" The pain only got worst, as he felt all the other bones in his arm had been broken as well from the impact.

_'T...This is... Too much...'_

He slumped to the ground, gasping for air, as he felt his vision blur slightly from the intense pain. This wasn't the first time he felt like this, but it was still unbearable.

_'No... Not again...! I can't let her die again!'_

He glared at Kin, who had recovered from the hit, and planted her foot on the pinkette's spine. His eyes then made contact with Sakura's. He looked deep into her eyes, and saw a look that said both 'run away' and 'save me' at the same time.

All of Team 10 watched with their jaws dropped, at what had happened. Ino looked down, and muttered to herself. "That dobe doesn't know when to give up..."

He slowly got up, and stumbled toward her desperately.

_'Kurama! How much longer? I can't take this pain anymore!'_

_"__**40 more seconds, Naruto! Try to hold on! The last of the chakra is still being assimilated!**__"_

The blonde kept his eyes on the pinkette, as he slowly stumbled toward her. He had to get to her... He had to save her.

Of course, Kin wasn't going to allow that. The pinkette yelped in terror, as the blonde went flying back into the tree, only this time, had senbon imbedded into his body.

Naruto felt numb, as he slowly pulled out a couple of the needles. He was swaying, as the pain began to overcome him.

_'So much... Pain...'_

He fell forward, hitting the ground with a loud _thud_. Using the last of his energy, he slowly and shakily crawled toward his pink haired love. All the while, the remaining needles began to dig further into his body.

Sakura's lip quivered, as she cried out toward the blonde. "N-Naruto! I-It's okay...! Y-You can stop!" Tears overcame her at a greater rate, as she watched the boy that she spent so long tormenting for no reason... Put himself through excruciating pain, just for her. "P...Please... Stop...!"

He had finally reached close enough, and the oto-nin only watched, as the pinkette stretched her arm out, grasping the blonde's hand tightly.

_"__**10 seconds! Hold on, Naruto!**__"_

Dosu let out a sigh, as his eye lazily glanced at the group. "Alright, let's finish up..." The amusement was long gone by this point. It was actually rather sad, depressing.

Naruto bit his lip, as he put his face to the ground. He took slow breaths, as the pain built. His grip on Sakura's hand also tightened.

Kin took out a kunai, and looked at the two. "Well kids, it's been a good fight. Pinky, you're the first to go."

_"__**5 seconds!**__"_

Naruto gritted his teeth, but couldn't hold it in any longer. "**GRUAAAAAAHHHHHH!**"

Kin froze, as she heard the blood curdling scream coming from the blonde, her kunai just stopping at Sakura's neck.

_"__**Go, kid! Save Sakura!**__"_

In that moment a golden light swirled around the blonde, and exploded, engulfing the area in a blinding light.

Both his friends, and his enemies, watched in awe as the blonde slowly stood up. His eyes turned crimson, as the Kyuubi's chakra flowed through his veins once more.

His body was now a golden color. He wore what looked to be a golden high collar cloak that was opened, revealing his seal. Black colored designs ran along his body like tattoos, and his red pupils glowed from his slitted eyes. He looked like a feral beast.

The whisker marks that were adorned on his face were replaced with thick geometric rectangles. His hair ended in points, taking the form of horns, and a black line of tomo traced his collarbone. And finally, what shocked them all, was the nine chakra tails flapping behind him.

The Oto-nin trembled in fear at his presence. This was the last thing they expected.

"What... What _is_ that? What happened to Naruto?" Ino's pupils were barely visible, as she watched in amazement. Shikamaru's jaw was slacked, as he stared at the blonde, and Chouji was frozen in fear.

Shikamaru blinked, as began to stutter. "I...I d-don't know..." He may have said that, but his mind was moving a mile a minute. What caught his attention, were the nine tails behind the blonde.

_'Wait... His birthday is October 10th... The village shuns him, the strange whisker marks... And now this... Who would've thought that Naruto carried the Kyuubi in him?'_

Sakura was... Speechless, as she stared up at the blonde wide-eyed. One moment, they were holding hands, accepting death with open arms. The next... Naruto's chakra jumps a hundred fold, and he gets up like his injuries were nothing.

_'W-what the?... How did...? What happened?...'_

Naruto's eyes met with the dark-haired girl, who jumped slightly from his heavy stare. The next thing she knew, she was sent flying back from one of the nine tails swatting her away.

Dosu caught the girl, and was shocked to see a large burn mark adorned on Kin's left arm, and it was bleeding badly. He looked up at the blonde with a nervous look, he knew they had to give up. It was a simple mission, really. Orochimaru said it himself, just kill the Uchiha. It didn't include dealing with the Kyuubi incarnate.

Zaku, however, wasn't about to just turn tail and run.

"Hey, shrimp! Just 'cause you got some fancy henge, it doesn't mean you can stand up to the sound! Once I'm done with you, I'm going to give that pink haired slut what she truly deserves! A good, hard, fuck-"

He was cut off, when Naruto flashed behind him, his eyes widened in both shock, and fear.

_'W-what speed...!'_

Naruto kicked Zaku down to his knees, then in one swift movement, grabbed Zaku's arms with his chakra arms, and planted his foot on the Oto-nin's spine. He then began to pull his arms back. Zaku looked back at the blonde in fear. "N-No wait! PLEASE!"

Naruto just glared down at Zaku, as his eyes glowed menacingly. "You seem to care deeply about these arms of yours... It would be shame if they..." As he said this, he pulled hard, tearing Zaku's arms out of his sockets, rendering them useless.

The oto-nin screamed out in pain, as he looked at the blonde pleadingly. "P-Please! STOP!"

A shadow formed over the blonde, only showing his crimson eyes. "No one talks to Sakura-chan like that... I'm also going to assume that you're the one who put her in that state, before your friend tried to kill her..."

Zaku's eyes widened greatly, as tears began to run down his face. "W-Wait...!"

The blonde's eyes narrowed, as two more chakra arms formed, and grabbed Zaku's arms. "Death, is all you deserve..."

"WAAIIIITT!"

He ripped the Oto-nin's arms off, causing blood to spew everywhere. Some of it, began to cover the blonde in a fine mist. His eyes glanced toward the other two. A shadow covered his front, and all that could be seen was his red glowing eyes, and the blood stains.

Kin threw up in horror, and Dosu stared, wide-eyed in fear. _'This boy... Is a true demon... We need to leave.'_

A horrifying scream escaped from Zaku, before the pain and blood loss over came him. He fell to the ground, dead.

Sakura stared at Naruto, completely frightened. Not just _of _him, but _for _him as well. She had never seen this side of him before, and she couldn't wrap her mind around it.

The Konoha-nin in the bushes were beyond shock, and slowly turned to each other. Chouji was the first one to speak. "Did he... Did he just kill that guy?..." None of the team 10 members had seen death before, let alone one of their comrades killing someone. The fact that it was Naruto, made the situation even more disturbing.

Ino stared, dazed from what had happened. She began to mumble to herself. "He... He just _tore_ that guy's arms off..." Shikamaru had no words. But he too, was shocked by his friend's brutality.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, as he continued to give his soul-piercing stare. "If you value your pathetic lives, you'll leave Konoha... And _never_ return."

They both nodded slowly. Kin's sarcastic attitude was non-existant, as she wiped the vomit from her mouth. Dosu slowly took the scroll out of his pack, and placed it down on the ground.

The blonde walked over, and picked it up. As he did, a smirk appeared on his face. "Give my regards to Orochimaru."

The two oto-nin looked at each other in surprise, but didn't say anything further, as they vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Once they were gone, Naruto allowed his bijuu-mode to fade away. As he did so, he felt the pain in his arm return, as he leaned against the tree, and slid down to a sitting position. He grimaced, as he felt his arm throbbing in pain.

The pinkette shakily stood up, and walked over to the blonde, frowning all the while. She knelt next to him, and looked him in the eye. "W...Why didn't you leave...?"

Naruto gave her a pain filled smile, as he closed an eye. "And let my Sakura-chan die?... Not a chance..."

_'Not again... No one is going to die this time.'_

The pinkette blinked at this, as she felt a warmth in her chest. She looked down, blinking all the while.

_'W-What the hell?... Why am I reacting like this? This is Naruto we're talking about. B-But... He's so... Devoted. Why is he acting so different from before? And that power... I need some answers.'_

Naruto looked into the pinkette's eyes, he saw that she was lost in thought. "S-Sakura-chan... I need you to help pop my shoulder back in place..."

This knocked the pinkette out of her thoughts, as she looked at Naruto in surprise. "W-What? But... I can't do that."

"C'mon, all you have to do is- Nngh...!" He winced in pain, when he felt the pinkette touch his arm.

_'This is gonna fucking hurt...'_

"J... Just pull it really hard. I trust you, Sakura-chan." Leaving no room to argue, the blonde turned himself so his back was facing the pinkette. He took out a kunai, and put it into his mouth.

Sakura carefully grabbed his bicep, and gritted her teeth, and closing her eyes as she pulled his arm back violently.

It cracked back into place, as the blonde's screams were muffled by him biting down on the kunai.

Then it fell out.

"SON OF A FUCKING BITCH! Dammit, that hurt...!" He closed his eyes tightly, as he panted slowly. Sakura, on the other hand, was stunned. She had never him swear that much before, let alone yell like that.

Team 10 looked on, as the tension from the situation began to build. Ino looked over at them, shaking slightly. "S...Should we check on them?" She was clearly still trying to get over the massive amounts of chakra Naruto gave off, along with the murder he committed on another ninja.

Shikamaru nodded slowly, as Chouji gave a thumbs up. The trio leapt out of the bushes, and landed near the two members of Team 7.

Naruto saw them, and his eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You... You guys were here... The whole time but... Didn't help Sakura-chan...?" he panted slowly, trying to catch his breath.

Chouji looked to the side nervously, and with slight guilt. "S-Sorry, man... It's just that you... And those guys..." He was about to give an explanation, but the blonde waved it off. He couldn't be mad at them, not now.

_'I'm just glad they're alive...'_

"Hey, Naruto... What was that power you used?" Naruto blinked, and looked over at the fellow blonde. The lazy genin watched Naruto carefully.

_'Somethings up with him... Besides the Kyuubi. He's... Different.'_

The blonde shrugged, as he gave them a somewhat blank stare. "Kekkei Genkai."

_'They don't need to know about Kurama, not yet...'_

He noticed two very similar looks from Sakura and Shikamaru, saying that they didn't believe his lie. However, Ino and Chouji believed it, and that's all he needed.

He looked down, and grimaced at his arm. "My arm's broken..." Chouji and Shikamaru went to go check on Lee, and a glance at Sasuke showed that he was still unconscious.

The blonde rubbed the blood that had stained his face on his jacket sleeve. He then pulled the jacket off, and threw it into the forest, disgusted by the bloody filth.

He took off his undershirt, but was quick to turn around so his friends couldn't see the seal on his abdomen. Unfortunate for him, though, the pinkette caught a glimpse of it, and walked over. "Naruto, what _is _that?"

Naruto looked at her in surprise, and shook his head, as he looked down. "I'll tell you later, Sakura-chan... I promise."

Sakura frowned, from the blonde's rather dodgey answer, but nodded anyways. She then realized she had stared at the now topless blonde for a while, and turned away.

Said blonde looked at Sakura, handing his shirt over. "Could you tear my shirt? I need to make a sling with it..."

Before she could say anything, he put the shirt in her hands. The pinkette grimaced when she felt how damp it was. She was about to yell at him for it, but... She just couldn't bring herself to do it.

_'He... He saved my life... And he's acting so mature now. What the hell did that snake lady do to make him change so much?'_

She ripped up the clothing, and helped make a sling for the blonde. Once his arm was secure enough to heal, Kurama pumped more chakra through the blonde's system, to speed up the process.

When the two turned around, they saw that both team 10, and Lee were gone. They were now by themselves.

Naruto let out a large sigh, as he sat against the tree. "Glad that's over..."

Sakura only gave a quiet nod, as she sat down next to him. She then looked to the side. "H-Hey, um... I'm sorry that I couldn't do more to help..." She grimaced slightly, as she stared at the ground. "I tried to fend them off, but... In the end, you had to save me."

The blonde flashed a smile to the pinkette. "Hey, no need to apologize. I'm just glad that you're safe, Sakura-chan."

Sakura looked at Naruto's smile, and couldn't help but give a small smile back to him.

His face then turned more serious, as he glanced over where Sasuke was still resting. "Listen, Sakura-chan... When Sasuke wakes up, don't tell him that I was the one who saved us."

Sakura raised an eyebrow to this in confusion. "Huh? Why?"

Naruto turned back to the pinkette, looking her dead in the eye. "Because. Sasuke is power-hungry... He hates it when those who used be weaker than him, grow to be stronger than him." He then closed his eyes. "He's used to being considered a 'genius'. A true ninja. If he were to find out that me, one who is considered a 'dead last', became stronger than him... It wouldn't go over well."

While Sakura didn't like the idea of someone being stronger than Sasuke, she really didn't have any way to prove that Sasuke was stronger. I mean, hell, could he have ninja cower in fear from his presence alone? Not that she knew of. So, she only gave a slow nod. "A...Alright... I won't tell him."

Naruto looked down, as he began to get lost in thought.

_'I'll make sure Sasuke doesn't leave this time... No matter what.'_

It was quiet for a little while after that, but a crackling from someone stepping in leaves, caught their attention. They both looked over, and saw Sasuke walking toward them, still a bit weary looking.

They both got up, and Sakura looked at him in surprise. "S-Sasuke-kun! Are you okay?"

The Uchiha rubbed his neck, then folded his arms. "Hn. Yeah." He then looked at the bloody battlefield around him. "What... The hell happened here?"

Naruto was the first to speak, as he waved his broken arm. "We were ambushed by a team from Oto. I tried to fight them off, but that green wearing bushy brows guy saved us."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow to this, but nodded slowly. "Can you two move?"

"Yeah."

He then walked forward. "Let's get going then." With that the trio jumped into the trees.

As they moved forward, Sasuke and Sakura looked at their blonde teammate carefully. Sakura had never seen Naruto so calm before... So focused. She wanted to know what caused this sudden change, and where that power came from. Because, as she noticed the changes more and more, her theory of Orochimaru having something to do with wasn't holding up.

Sasuke noticed that something was different about the blonde as well, but that wasn't what was on his mind... What he was thinking about, was the corpse from that bloody battlefield, and what the two had told him. He felt as though... What they told him wasn't exactly truthful.

_'What are those two hiding from me...?'_

Despite that, they kept going. Not a day later, they finally reached the tower.

It was time, for the final stage of the Chunin exams to begin.

* * *

Hey... I got it done. Lol.

Once again. I will occasionally put up chapters for this story, until a time comes when I can put full focus on it. (So... When WCT and TLF are done.)

Anywho... Made some changes to the chapter from the original... Hopefully you guys enjoyed it.

Later.


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